UK's InterContinental Hotels 1H profit falls

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC, the England-based owner of the Holiday Inn hotel chain, said Tuesday that first-half profits fell 26 percent as taxes and administrative costs escalated.

Net profits for the year to June 30 were US$163 million, down from US$219 million in the first six months of 2007.

Although total revenue over the same period rose 14 percent to US$952 million, the increase wasn't enough to combat rising expenses.

Administrative costs increased by 21 percent to US$206 million in the first-half of the year, up from US$170 million in the first-half of last year, as a result of a costly special dividend the company paid to …